Save My Soul (7 page)

Coen would know what to do.
"Coen!"

I waited a moment then heard a loud
pop, then another. Coen and another man stood at the foot of my
bed. The other man was very good looking. He looked to be in his
early thirties, and he was wearing a scowl on his face. He looked
upset, but I didn't summon him, so why did he come?

Coen smiled at me. "Kendra, I would
like to introduce you to Rhyan, your guardian angel. I figured with
the recent activity that you would need a little more firepower on
your side."

I was confused. What recent activity?
He couldn't be talking about my nightmare; it had only been a
dream. I looked back at Rhyan, but he wouldn't meet my gaze. He
looked a little nervous about being around me, but he didn't look
so upset anymore. "What recent activity are you talking
about?"

Coen frowned. "You almost let him get
control over you. I should have warned you better. Murry knows you
are trying to save young Adam, and he almost took control of
you."

The nightmare had been real? "Are you
talking about my nightmare?"

Both of the men nodded. "That I am,
young Kendra. It wasn't only a nightmare. Angels and demons are
allowed to enter the dreams of humans, but we aren't allowed to
mess with their freewill. You would have to choose on your own, but
Adam's guardian demon is very powerful and influential. He will
make you want to join with him, and when you do, he will win the
souls of both you and young Adam.

What the hell did he just say? "What
the hell did you just say?"

Rhyan looked angry again. "I told you
this would happen, Coen! I knew you wouldn't tell her everything
she needed to know before she agreed to your deal. If I lose her
soul, I will hold you personally responsible and have you
reprimanded."

He couldn't be serious. So, this was
why Rhyan had been trying to intercede yesterday, and why he was so
clearly angry today. If I didn't complete my mission, then I
wouldn't only lose my life, I would lose my soul as well. I stared
at Coen in disbelief. "You tricked me? I bargained with you, not
the devil. My soul shouldn't be up for grabs, Coen." The more I
talked the more pissed I got, and I cry when I'm pissed. I felt the
hot tears streaming down my face and I ignored them.

"It is the price for such a gamble. I
thought you were aware. I apologize for not informing you
better."

I threw the bed cover off
my legs and started for him. "The price!? It's the price
I
have to pay?" I
pointed at my chest. "Well, if a soul is the price, I think it
should be yours that we are gambling with. You are the one who has
failed to keep Adam on the right path. Tell me something, did you
cause my accident?" Rhyan's head turned swiftly, and there was a
look of shear horror on his face as he stared at the other angel.
Coen didn't flinch. I continued pressing for answers. "I think you
did and then made your option of me helping you sound easier and
better than dying and going to heaven. You knew I wouldn't turn you
down. Am I right?"

Rhyan stepped a foot closer to the
angel. "You know I'll be able to tell if you lie to her,
Coen."

Coen dropped his head and clenched his
jaw. He waited a full twenty seconds before responding to either of
us. "I had nothing to do with your accident."

"Liar!" Rhyan shouted almost before
Coen finished his sentence, then hurled himself at the other angel
and they both tumbled to the floor. Rhyan was straddling Coen's
chest and had both hands around the other angel's throat. I didn't
know what to do, so I backed up to the wall. I couldn't call the
cops and say, "Oh, hey, yeah, my guardian angel and another angel
are duking it out on my bedroom floor. One of them tried to kill me
yesterday, and he will be the cause of me dying, for good, in six
days. Can you send someone out to break up the fight for me,
please?" Yeah, that would so not be happening.

"What would you do if Patrick had her
soul in the palm of his hand, and they only gave you a week to get
her back?" Coen said, after taking three solid blows to the
face.

Rhyan got to his feet quicker than I
would have thought possible. He looked down at Coen with a kind of
sadness on his face. "I wouldn't have risked another human's soul
for mine, Coen. I would have suffered greatly, but what you've done
is unforgivable. You know the consequences of your
actions."

Coen closed his eyes in defeat. "My
brother, I thought with the feelings you have for her that you
would understand."

My jaw dropped, and Rhyan slowly
raised his head to meet my eyes. He wasn't holding Coen down any
longer, but he didn't really have to, Coen was smart enough to stay
on the floor. Our eyes met and we stared at each other for the
longest time. He finally looked down at Coen, then bent and placed
his hand on the angel's chest. There was a loud pop, and then both
of the angels were gone.

I guess angels just don't believe in
good-byes.

I showered quickly then took Hercules
out for his morning run. Well, he was running, I was jogging. A dog
that small just can't keep up with me if I'm at a full out run. I
had to do something to clear my head and help me think. My morning
jog usually helped me organize my day a little better. If I missed
a day, everything fell apart. So, off we ran.

I reluctantly turned on my cell phone,
and set it so I could talk through my ear bud if anyone called. I
would be breathless and winded, but if anyone called and wanted to
talk to me for the next hour; that was how it had to be. I'd
skipped the previous day's run to go rappelling with my friends,
and look where that had landed me.

"Come on Hercules." We kicked it up a
notch from our usual warm-up trot to my full out jog. Hercules used
to struggle to keep up with me only jogging, but he realized that
if he couldn't keep up, I would leave him at home and go running on
my own. He was getting better. I'd considered getting a bigger dog
for the days I want a good hard run, but Hercules is so possessive
of me, it would have been a shot to his ego.

My cell phone went off. First one of
the day, and I had a feeling that it was going to be a very long
day. I glanced at the name before I hit my ear bud to receive the
call. "Hello, Mom." I said a little winded.

"My God, Kendra! What on earth are you
doing? No, wait; don't tell me, I don't want to know. How are you,
honey?" My mother sounded anxious, but I had to smile. She must
have thought I was having sex. Now, why would I answer the phone if
I was having sex? If it were good sex, there wouldn't be a chance
in hell, but I admit I have answered a call a time or two. It kind
of ruined the mood, but the times that I had, the mood wasn't
really there for me to begin with. But I would never, in a million
years, answer a call from my mom or dad in the middle of a sexual
act of any kind, not even kissing. I wouldn't be able to hide the
embarrassment in my voice.

"I'm just taking Hercules out for his
run, Mom, and I am fine."

"We were so worried about you
yesterday. I can't believe your friends would tell us that you were
close to dying, when there was clearly nothing major wrong with
you."

"I know. It was just a
misunderstanding. They thought something was wrong, don't blame
them." My phone beeped, letting me know I had another call waiting.
"Mom, I have another call coming in. Can I call you
later?"

"Yes, honey, we're just so glad that
you're all right. I'm sure your phone will be ringing all day. We
love you."

"I love you and dad too. I'll call you
later. Bye."

"Bye, baby."

I glanced at my phone, but didn't
recognize the number. It was local, but I usually didn't answer to
anyone I didn't have programmed into my phone. Calls like that went
through my landline, they were mostly business, but my cell phone
was private.

I went ahead and tapped my ear bud.
"This is Kendra Larkin."

"Ms. Larkin, my name is Cal Hanner of
the Independent. I would like to ask you a few questions if you
don't mind."

Great. There was a leak somewhere, and
that leak had given my personal cell phone number to the press.
"Actually, Mr. Hanner, I do mind." I hit the button on my ear bud
and ended the call.

My phone immediately rang again. I was
ready to be angry when I hit my earpiece, but the voice that came
through made me smile instead. "Good morning, Kendra. How's my
favorite patient?"

"Well, I'm fine. Thank you for asking,
Mason."

"I need to do a follow-up on you, you
know, vitals and stuff, to make sure everything checks out all
right. Do you mind if I drop by your house, say around six-thirty
tonight?" He sounded a little nervous, but I didn't know what he
was doing besides talking with me, so I had no clue why.

"Actually, I was going to run into
town later and try my luck at Dr. Chamberlain again. I could look
you up for a vitals check then if you want."

He laughed lightly. "Well, that would
be fine, if that's what you want to do. I was just trying to get up
the nerve to ask you out tonight. I was using that excuse to come
by and pick you up. I know you are fine or you wouldn't be
exercising right now."

I looked immediately to my left, then
my right. Could he see me? Was he hiding somewhere watching me?
"Where are you?"

"I'm at the hospital. I could hear
your labored breathing. I didn't figure you were lying in bed
taking it easy like the doctor ordered."

I smiled. "Actually, the only thing
the doctor ordered was for me not to leave the hospital. He didn't
say anything about jogging or any other type of strenuous
activities. Hercules needed a run, and I felt good enough to take
him."

Mason laughed. "So…can I pick you up
at six-thirty?"

I'd completely forgotten that he'd
asked me out. Coen may be the cause of all of this, but some of the
things he'd said made sense. What would one little date hurt,
though?

"Kendra?" Mason said.

"I'm here, and yes…six-thirty will be
fine Mason."

I could almost hear him smile through
the phone. "Great! I'll see you then. Good-bye, Kendra."

"Bye, Mason." I hit my earpiece with a
smile.

I rounded the halfway mark of my jog.
Hercules was panting heavily, but we weren't stopping and he knew
it.

I heard a loud pop and ran smack dab
into Rhyan. Couldn't he see where he was going to appear? He caught
me, but I was going too fast to help him balance. We went down on
the hard pavement and he broke my fall.

"What in the hell are you doing?"
Hercules was whining as I got to my feet. He didn't get tangled up
with us, but I knew he was worried if I was hurt or not.

Rhyan stood up and brushed off his
clothes. He was wearing a short sleeve polo shirt with khaki shorts
and flip-flops. He looked nice, really nice, but that didn't
explain him popping up in front of me where I could run over
him.

"I don't think the date tonight is a
very good idea, Kendra. You have things to take care of, and I
don't think getting distracted is the best option for you right
now. Besides, I can't find Mason's guardian angel. I don't know
what type of person he is."

"He believes me, Rhyan, and he's the
only person I can talk to about all of this." I said.

"That isn't true. You can talk to me,"
he said and dropped his head to stare at his feet.

I looked at him a little closer. Did
he really have feelings for me? I didn't know him, but he had known
me my whole life. Imagine the things he'd seen. I sighed, "What
happened with Coen?"

He spoke without looking at me. "He's
confined and waiting for a hearing." He looked up at me then. "What
he did was inexcusable, but it won't change the outcome. I begged
for them to release you from this deal, but they will not. You have
to get Adam's soul back. You made the deal, Kendra."

I looked shocked, I know I did. "I
didn't know what I was agreeing to, Rhyan."

He nodded with unshed tears in his
eyes. "I know…I know."

Rhyan had popped out of sight before I
had a chance to say anything else. I guess he didn't want me to see
him cry. I wouldn't have held it against him. I wanted to cry
myself.

I didn't have time for Hercules' short
legs to try and keep up, so I gathered him up in my arms and ran as
fast as I could back to the house.

There was a dark cloud moving in and I
felt the first sprinkle of rain just before running through my
door. I had to take a quick shower; I couldn't talk to Adam
smelling like sweat. I jumped in the shower before the water was
completely warm and made a loud girly exclamation. I looked at my
dog sitting on the tile staring up at me. He seemed to be smiling.
"That wasn't funny, Hercules." He licked his lips and curled up on
the ceramic tile.

I was in a hurry, but I took the time
to shampoo and condition my hair. I couldn't put it off any longer.
I finished up and quickly got ready. I did take the time to apply a
little makeup and fix my long hair. I felt like I was running out
of time, but I have learned that men are more apt to talk to a
woman who looks professional or pretty, than one who looks like she
just crawled out of bed. Better to be easy on the eyes in any
situation involving a man.